# The Romance of Business explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Saki.

## What happens

Margaret Sangrail entertains her nephew Clovis by recounting how she manipulated her wealthy, boastful cousin Sophie into selling her prized fur stole at a loss, using a fabricated expert and a nonexistent fur fashion to undermine Sophie's pride and secure a bargain.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Moral Facade

Margaret's polite facade masks her deliberate cruelty and deception toward Sophie, whom she claims to like but enjoys tormenting.

### The Absurdity of Social Rituals

The elaborate tea-time performance, complete with inferior tea and a fabricated fur expert, satirizes the absurd lengths to which social competition can go.

## Character check-ins

### Clovis Sangrail

Margaret's nephew, who listens to her tale and comments on the 'Romance of Business.'

### Sophie Chattel-Monkheim

The wealthy, boastful cousin who is tricked into selling her beaver stole.

## Key lines

> I make it a rule to like my relations; I remember only their good qualities and forget their birthdays.

Margaret claims to always appreciate her relatives by focusing on their virtues and ignoring their faults, but her actions show otherwise.

_Margaret's ironic statement highlights her hypocritical attitude toward family._

> I think you've brought the Romance of Business to an advanced stage of perfection.

Clovis compliments Margaret's masterful manipulation, turning a simple transaction into an art form.

_Clovis's closing remark underscores the chapter's title and theme of clever deception in commerce._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_49_se/chapters/the-romance-of-business
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_49_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_49_se/chapters